Trump Sues To Block California Law Requiring Release Of His Taxes

LOS ANGELES, CA — A week after California passed a controversial election law guaranteed to provoke one man above all others, that man, predictably, hit back. President Donald Trump took to federal court Tuesday to challenge the new California law that requires presidential candidates to release five years of tax returns in order to be included on the state’s primary ballot.

Arguing that Americans don’t care about the president’s tax returns and that California doesn’t have the right to force the issue, the president’s legal team is seeking to have the law invalidated. Trump has proven willing to fight tooth and nail to keep his tax returns a secret. He’s already sued a Congressional committee seeking their release. And Trump is not alone in taking on California over the issue.

“The issue of whether the President should release his federal tax returns was litigated in the 2016 election and the American people spoke,” Jay Sekulow, an attorney for Trump, said in a written statement, according to the Los Angeles Times. “The effort to deny California voters the opportunity to cast a ballot for President Trump in 2020 will clearly fail.”

Several Trump supporters are also challenging the law, contending the state lacks the constitutional authority to impose such requirements on candidates. On Monday, Los Angeles resident and Republican voter Timothy D. Lykins filed a federal lawsuit, claiming the new law "violates the voting and associational rights of Mr. Lykins and other Republican primary voters by imposing an unreasonable condition for ballot access on their chosen primary presidential candidate, Donald Trump, the incumbent president of the United States."

The suit asks that a judge declare that the law — signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on July 30 — violates the First and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. Attorneys said they plan to seek an injunction blocking the enforcement of the law.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Los Angeles. A similar lawsuit was filed in federal court in Sacramento by the conservative group Judicial Watch, which claims its clients include Republican, Democrat and Independent voters.

Passed along party lines, the bill was sure to antagonize the president along with the Republican party.

Specifically Senate Bill 27, known as the Presidential Tax Transparency and Accountability Act, requires presidential and gubernatorial candidates to disclose five years of tax returns in order to qualify for the primary election. Its supporters call it necessary to expose possibly dangerous conflicts of interest. Opponents contend it's unconstitutional, a law drafted with the sole purpose of irritating one person: Trump.

"As one of the largest economies in the world and home to one in nine Americans eligible to vote, California has a special responsibility to require this information of presidential and gubernatorial candidates," Newsom stated in signing the bill. "These are extraordinary times and states have a legal and moral duty to do everything in their power to ensure leaders seeking the highest offices meet minimal standards, and to restore public confidence. The disclosure required by this bill will shed light on conflicts of interest, self-dealing, or influence from domestic and foreign business interest."

Shortly after the law was signed UC Irvine election law professor Rick Hasen predicted it would be short-lived on his Election Law Blog.

“The key argument would be that this law imposes additional qualifications on presidential candidates in violation of Article II of the Constitution. I think such a challenge has a pretty good chance of succeeding, although nothing is certain,” he wrote. “It would not be surprising for such a case to make its way through the Ninth Circuit and to the Supreme Court within a matter of months.”

City News Service contributed to this report.